But, can these Birds win it all? Wait.

JONES

Eagles Training Camp

If you cover an NFL training camp, you hurry up and wait. That's the deal.

You stake out a dorm on Day One, wait for some player to check in, and you hear how he's damn glad to be here, how he can't wait to get started, blah, blah, blah.

It was raining Tuesday afternoon at Lehigh, when the Eagles rookies (as well as some "selected veterans") reported. So the media mob shifted from foot -- squish -- to foot, and waited. Waited for a story to break out.

One finally did: The Eagles signed all their remaining draft picks, the last of those first-rounder Shawn Andrews, who's penciled in as the starter at right guard.

But other than that, not much going on. Backup quarterback Jeff Blake said he welcomes the new season, his 13th.

"This is my livelihood," he said. "This is what I do."

Rookie defensive back Dexter Wynn said he wants to "come out and make some statements immediately."

Yawn.

Geez, can't we just cut to the chase? Can't we just find out how this turns out?

Because that's all anybody really cares about -- whether this team can finally make that Evel Knievel-esque leap from the NFC Championship Game to the Super Bowl.

Everything else that happens over the next six months is a preliminary.

"Obviously, expectations are high," Andy Reid said, sounding a familiar pre-camp refrain. "Tolerance for mistakes will be very low."

The Eagles raised the ante during the most daring postseason in franchise history. They had to, given that flameout against Carolina in the last conference final. And given what had happened at the same fork in the road the two previous years.

So Terrell Owens -- never before regarded as Reid's kind of guy -- is here. (Or will be, come Friday.) Jevon Kearse and Dhani Jones, too. And Jeremiah Trotter is back.

All for the long haul. All for the bottom line.

We all know the history -- theirs, and the city's. How with Game Four of the 1983 NBA Finals melting away, Maurice Cheeks, a guy who never dunked, dunked. And how Cheeks, a guy who never celebrated, celebrated. The Sixers were in the process of finishing off a sweep of the Lakers, one that secured Philadelphia's last major title.

What might not be remembered is that those Sixers were like these Eagles. They had fallen short in the Finals three times before that -- 1977, '80 and '82 -- and had numerous other postseason failures. Anybody else remember the "We Owe You One" ad campaign? The way the Sixers frittered away a three-games-to-one lead to Boston in the 1981 Eastern Conference finals?

And like these Eagles, those Sixers moved boldly in the offseason before their title run, adding Moses Malone.

Then they dominated the regular season -- the preliminaries -- and did the fo'-fi'-fo' thing in the postseason.

What we should also remember is that those Sixers were a one-shot deal, never reaching the Finals again.

Different sports, but it would appear that the Eagles are at the same now-or-never point in their history.

"This is an exciting time, no question about it," defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said. "Expectations are high, and we've got to come through."

Any number of things can go wrong. The offensive line could implode. Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown, the new starters at cornerback, could get toasted. One of Kearse's lower extremities could give out, as has been the case the last two years. Owens could sulk if he doesn't get to practice in a muu-muu.